


a short but sweet interaction [emphasis on sweet]

by scribble_stars



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fluff, Gen, Not Beta Read, Spencer Reid Needs a Hug, William LaMontagne Jr. is a good dad, but for a completely different reason than spencer, themetaphorgirl's Spencer Blake AU, twizzlers are gross i would cry about them too
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-16
Updated: 2020-11-16
Packaged: 2021-03-10 06:40:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,775
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27589000
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scribble_stars/pseuds/scribble_stars
Summary: William LaMontagne Jr. wasn't expecting to let a young stranger into he and his wife's home at nearly two in the morning, but once he meets the little boy, he's glad he did.________"“What was that, Spencer?” Will turned to look at the bed, thinking for a split second that maybe he had imagined hearing the young boy talk, but Spencer swallowed hard and surprisingly spoke up.“Y-your accent, it’s from New Orleans?” Spencer asked, and when Will nodded, he continued. “The New Orleans accent um, it um, it’s usually confused with a New York accent because they both have heavy influence from the French, Italians, and Irish because of heavy immigration. But New Orleans gets the majority of their slang from French,” Spencer finished, hardly taking a breath between each sentence.Will cracked a smile. “Is that right? Well, I didn’t know that. You know a lot, don’t you?”"
Relationships: Jennifer "JJ" Jareau/William LaMontagne Jr.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 95





	a short but sweet interaction [emphasis on sweet]

**Author's Note:**

  * For [themetaphorgirl](https://archiveofourown.org/users/themetaphorgirl/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Dreams are Only Blue](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26346748) by [themetaphorgirl](https://archiveofourown.org/users/themetaphorgirl/pseuds/themetaphorgirl). 



> after i read chapter 8 of Dreams are Only Blue, i couldn't stop thinking about how Will felt about the whole thing, and how their interaction went the entire time JJ was taking a break, sooooooo you all get this little one-shot/drabble/whatever you want to call it! please go check out Caitlin's AU and all of her other works because she is SO talented!
> 
> enjoy!

Will hadn’t been sure what to expect when JJ called him at nearly two in the morning and told him she was bringing home a little boy ( _ He wasn’t entirely surprised. JJ would do anything to help someone in need, especially a child _ ). At first he was perplexed- hadn’t she just said in her press conference the missing little boy had been found dead? But as she kept explaining in a rushed, strained tone, Will’s heart dropped to his stomach. A friend of the boy-  _ Spencer Reid _ , he reminded himself- had been the last one to see him alive, but also the first one to find his body. Will felt the air in his lungs leave when JJ told him that ( _ That boy was too young to go through something like that. Then again, was there a good age for something like that to happen to anyone? _ ).

“ _ I-I know, it’s a lot, but it’s just for the night, we’re taking him back to Quantico in the morning and- _ ” JJ spoke into the phone, but Will cut her off before she could keep going.

“Jayje, don’t worry about it, okay? I understand,” He said and could hear a soft sigh of relief from the other end, picturing the tension leaving JJ’s shoulders as she exhaled. “Just get you and that little boy home and we’ll figure this all out once you’ve gotten some sleep.”

“ _ I love you, you know that? _ ” JJ laughed gently on the other end. “ _ I should go so we can wrap things up. I think Morgan and Hotch are done getting him ready to go _ .”

“I love you too, Jennifer Jareau. I’ll see you home soon,” Will smiled as he hung up and went to Henry’s room to prepare the sleeper couch for Spencer.

From what JJ had told him, Will knew that Spencer had been alone for two months in a dirty apartment on his own. That was too long for a child to be without someone to look after them. The power had been off for two days, the kid had nothing more than shorts and a ratty sweatshirt, despite the cold February weather. He briefly imagined Henry in their home all by himself, having to feed himself and get himself to preschool ( _ He was reminded of the fact that the refrigerator in the Reid apartment had literally been empty. The kid probably got nothing more than school lunches, if even that _ ). Nobody there to read him a bedtime story when he couldn’t get to sleep. The thought sent shivers down his spine when he glanced at his son’s bedroom across the hallway through the open door of the playroom, but it also pushed him to keep making the sleeper couch as comfortable as he possibly could for the little boy on his way.

_______________________________

“Will, this is Spencer. Spencer, this is my husband, Will,” JJ introduced the two and looked between them, trying to gauge the two’s reactions to one another. 

After a brief moment, Will crouched down to look at the young boy more in depth. In Will’s opinion, Spencer looked like a doe, with large brown eyes. He had obviously just been out in the rain, and his eyes were red from crying. He didn’t say a word about the boy’s distressed state, he just tried to provide some comfort ( _ The boy seemed to need it _ ).

“Hi, buddy, I hear you’re gonna stay with us for the night,” Will spoke in just above a whisper. “I’ve got a place set up for you to sleep, but how about you go take a hot shower? You’ll feel better when you’re clean and warmed up,” he reasoned, looking over Spencer’s young face.

For a moment, Spencer looked like he’d rather do anything else, like run away back to his apartment. But after some consideration, Spencer nodded, and Will couldn’t help the small grin that crossed his lips. After reassuring his wife that their son was sound asleep and getting her to sit back and take a break, Will left the room with Spencer trailing just behind him, like he needed to make sure Will wasn’t too close, like he’d try something if he didn’t keep distance between them. ( _ Will didn’t blame the boy for his mistrust. He was another unfamiliar adult male, and while Spencer had gotten at least some time to know Hotch and the rest of the men of the BAU while they helped him, Will was a complete stranger. He would’ve been more unsettled if Spencer wasn’t cautious _ ).

When they reached the bathroom, Will turned on the shower to a warm, but not uncomfortably hot temperature. After, he turned and looked at the young boy shaking lightly behind him, who was still holding his single suitcase of belongings. “Alright, kiddo, let’s go grab you a shirt to borrow, okay? We can find something for you to sleep in while the water warms up.”

Spencer nodded yet again and let WIll pass him out of the bathroom, then walked with him to the master bedroom. Will glanced back and tried to read Spencer’s expression, but he kept his eyes on the floor, only occasionally looking up to steal glances at the house ( _ Will pondered how long it had been since Spencer had been in a nice home, with heat and free of clutter on the ground. Of course there were toys all over and some random socks and toddler sized shirts littering the floor, but as to be expected when they had Henry _ ). Will patted a spot on the bed and Spencer climbed up on it reluctantly, setting his suitcase beside him. When Will turned to his dresser and began to rifle through his leisure/pajama drawer for a small shirt, he heard Spencer speak for the first time since he’d gotten to the house. Though, it came out as more of a mumble.

“What was that, Spencer?” Will turned to look at the bed, thinking for a split second that maybe he had imagined hearing the young boy talk, but Spencer swallowed hard and surprisingly spoke up.

“Y-your accent, it’s from New Orleans?” Spencer asked, and when Will nodded, he continued. “The New Orleans accent um, it um, it’s usually confused with a New York accent because they both have heavy influence from the French, Italians, and Irish because of heavy immigration. But New Orleans gets the majority of their slang from French,” Spencer finished, hardly taking a breath between each sentence.

Will cracked a smile. “Is that right? Well, I didn’t know that. You know a lot, don’t you?” Spencer nodded and looked down with a light flush on his cheeks. Chortling softly, Will grabbed a shirt he’d found, then waited for Spencer to grab fresh pajama pants and underwear from his suitcase ( _ Will noted that the suitcase was almost entirely books _ ).

_______________________________

When they went back into the bathroom, Will was glad to see there was steam coming from the shower, so he knew the water was ready. He set Spencer’s change of clothes on the bathroom counter, then hung a towel on the hook right outside of the shower. He helped Spencer out of the FBI jacket and had to make an effort to keep his expression somewhat neutral when he saw just how thin the boy was. His shirt under the jacket was damp still, and it clung to his too frail frame. Will could just barely see ribs under the shirt ( _ Even though they would only have him briefly, Will knew that he and JJ needed to get at least one good meal in this boy, though he hoped more _ ). As Spencer shimmied out of his equally damp shorts, Will checked the water again, but turned around when he heard soft crying. In his small, boney hands, Spencer- who was standing, shaking in just his underwear- clutched a fun sized twizzler.

“What’s wrong, buddy? Should I get JJ?” Will asked softly, but Spencer just shook his head over and over again.

“No, no, no…” Spencer cried and moved his hands to pull at his long hair, but he unintentionally dropped the twizzler. “Don’t tell her. Please, please don’t tell her,” he rasped, and though it pained Will, he didn’t want to betray the fragile trust he’d just started building, so he nodded.

“Alright, but promise me you’ll tell one of us when you’re ready to talk about it?” Will negotiated, and after he got a minute nod from Spencer, Will sighed and picked up the twizzler. “Should I throw this away?” Another nod.

“Well then, I’ll let you shower. I’ll see you back in the kitchen, shout if you need anything,” Will spoke gently and closed the door to the bathroom.

_______________________________

Will voiced his concerns about Spencer’s weight to JJ, but true to his word, he didn’t bring up the twizzler, which was sitting in the drawer of the nightstand on Will’s side of the bed, in case he had the chance to ask Spencer again before he left ( _ None of them knew what would happen to Spencer, but Will hoped he would see him again. He already had a fondness for the boy _ ).

“Speak of the devil. Hey, buddy, how’re you doing?” Will asked, taking in the boy again. The shower had really made a world of difference, but Spencer still looked exhausted, and far thinner than he should have been.

“I’m okay,” Spencer mumbled. 

He looked like he was about ready to fall asleep, but Will quickly asked if he wanted anything to eat. When Spencer’s answer was indifference, Will immediately knew what to make. In a few brief minutes, Will was setting a plate of dinosaur nuggets and bowl of cinnamon apple sauce in front of Spencer. It was almost painful to watch him scarf it down so quickly that he probably would have choked, but Will understood. He and JJ both did. Once Spencer finished, Will offered more, but he politely declined.

“Let’s get you to bed then. C’mon,” JJ looked at Spencer and waited for him to get out of his seat. Before they disappeared to the hallway, Will called a short and sweet goodnight, before he got started on the few dishes that had been made since JJ and Spencer got back to the house.

When he and JJ got into bed, JJ fell asleep the moment she was firmly pressed against Will, no doubt exhausted from such an emotionally taxing case. As Will fell asleep, he thought about the little boy sleeping in his son's playroom down the hallway, and he was happy he'd met Spencer Reid, even if it was a short-lived interaction.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you so much for reading! kudos and comments are greatly appreciated :-)
> 
> (ALSO, sorry if i messed up the fact on Will's accent, i read a quick study online about it a while ago and thought it'd be a fitting fact for Spencer to tell him!)
> 
> reach me on tumblr @scribble-stars !!


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